Charles Pope
| Charles Pope | |
|---|---|
Lieutenant Charles Pope c. 1917
|
|
| Born |
5 March 1883 London, England |
| Died | 15 April 1917 (aged 34) Louverval, France |
| Buried | Moeuvres Communal Cemetery Extension, France |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Imperial Force |
| Years of service | 1915–17 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | 11th Battalion |
| Battles/wars |
First World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
First World War
Charles Pope, VC (5 March 1883 – 15 April 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He received the Victoria Cross posthumously for his actions on 15 April 1917 on the Western Front at the Battle of Lagnicourt, which took place during the First World War.
Born in Mile End, London, on 5 March 1883, Charles Pope's parents were William, a Metropolitan Police constable, and Jane Pope (born Clark). He attended school in , Essex, before moving to Canada where he worked for Canadian Pacific Railways. He returned to England in 1906 and joined the Metropolitan Police. Later that year, at St Luke's Anglican Church in Chelsea, he married Edith Smith, with whom he would have two children, Edith Maude and Charles William. In 1910, Pope resigned from the police force and moved his family to Perth, Western Australia. He took up work as a furniture salesman and then took on a role in the insurance sector.
Amidst the backdrop of the First World War, Pope enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 31 August 1915, volunteering to serve overseas as part of Australia's commitment to the First World War. Assigned as a reinforcement to 11th Battalion, which had been formed largely from Western Australians and was at the time fighting at Gallipoli, after training he was quickly made a sergeant. By February 1916, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and four months later sailed for England, to join the battalion, which had been transferred to Europe following its evacuation from Gallipoli, along with a batch of reinforcements. Sailing on HMAT Ajana, he arrived at Plymouth on 1 September 1916.
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